Craving Italian food in DTLA? Don’t forget about Colori Kitchen in the Historic District neighborhood. You have probably walked past the place many times. It’s on the north side of 8th Street between Dunkin’ Donuts and the Golden Gopher. This family-owned restaurant has been in Downtown L.A. for about 10 years. Unlike a lot of restaurants in DTLA, this place is unpretentious. The facade of the restaurant is just the front door and a small window, but once inside I was surprised to find a much larger dining area. The far wall of the restaurant is a long brick wall, giving it the feel of an authentic Italian restaurant.

My husband started with the Caesar Salad ($10). It was crunchy romaine heart lettuce with homemade croutons, tossed in Caesar dressing then topped with shaved Parmesan cheese. This was a very traditional Italian Caesar Salad with a sardine-based dressing. I went for the Trancio Calamari special ($16). It was filleted and grilled to perfection.

For our main courses, my husband ordered the Lasagna Della Nonna ($18) made up of layers of fresh pasta with ricotta cheese, angus bolognese and tomato sauce topped with Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese. I decided to try the Spaghetti and Clam Sauce ($17). This was a very generous portion of clams and pasta.

Colori Kitchen is a great neighborhood restaurant. The food is classic Italian and the prices are reasonable. And here’s a bonus… although Colori Kitchen has a wine list, you are allowed to bring your own bottle of wine to the restaurant, and there is NOT a corkage fee.